According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Israel and Saudi Arabia are edging closer to their first public accord as Israel evaluates a Saudi request to change the international status of the two Red Sea Islands.

The news comes as suspicion grows that Jerusalem and Riyadh are about to take small measures toward normalising relations.

The deal is being put together by the White House, and it centres on handing Egyptian sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia.

While the Egyptian Parliament and Supreme Court have approved the transfer of the islands to Riyadh, Israeli consent is also necessary under the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace deal.

According to rumours, Biden is considering visiting Saudi Arabia next month as part of a Middle East tour that will also include a stop in Israel. Meanwhile, Israel believes that this visit will lead to greater public displays of friendship between the two countries.

Sources claim that efforts to formally normalise relations between the two nations have failed due to Saudi Arabia’s position in the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Several secret diplomatic meetings on security and business issues have taken place.

Following the global energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, Israel believes that US President Biden is willing to “forget” bin Salman in order to improve relations with the Saudis and grow oil exports.

Egypt announced the handover of Tiran and Safir to Saudi Arabia in April 2016. No movement or advancements on the islands are permitted without Israel’s agreement, according to Israel’s peace pact with Egypt.

Fearing that Israel would capture the islands, Riyadh ceded them to Egypt in 1950. Israel conquered the islands for a few months in 1956.

After the Six-Day War in 1967, when Egypt obstructed Israeli traffic routes, Israel reclaimed the islands. After a few years, a peace accord was signed in 1982, and the islands, as well as half of the Sinai Peninsula, were handed back.